Scene worth seeing

LODI - It's well known that when a Hollywood director films a scene in a movie over and over again, each time is called a "take."

The Record

LODI - It's well known that when a Hollywood director films a scene in a movie over and over again, each time is called a "take."

So, when venturing out to downtown Lodi's new Take 27 - a fancifully decorated restaurant with movie memorabilia galore - we affectionately called it our "Take 1."

Unfortunately, Take 2 is not in the immediate plans.

It's not that we can't see the grand ideas the restaurant aims for. The menu, from filet mignon to burgers and salads, sounds appetizing in its descriptions. The setting of artwork, movie posters, is eclectic and produced with what appears to be deft skill. There are even life-like dinosaurs ("Jurassic Park") crashing through the ceiling.

But, as some might say about Hollywood, it's all a facade.

The food is overdone, drowned in sauces and oils and sold at a price point that made this group of diners angry to have paid the tab. Entrees for three diners plus an appetizer for the table tallied up to $54, with very little satisfaction.

We started our order with the blooming bread appetizer ($6.95). The loaf of sourdough bread looked like it exploded and was easy to pluck apart and share with the table.

On the upside, we liked the idea. It was downhill from there. The bread was soaked to the point of mushiness with garlic butter, and it was smothered further with cheese. The waitress placed a side of ranch dressing next to the bread because "everybody loves ranch." True enough, but here it just felt like putting fatty dressing over fatty cheese over fatty butter.

The entrees continued this excess of seasonings and dressings.

The Sloppy Pig was described to be the restaurant's take on a barbecue staple - the pulled pork sandwich, served on a milk bun from Stockton's Genova Bakery, deep-fried onions and slathered in a sauce described as both sweet and spicy. It came with fries for $10.95.

The first bite was the best bite. The hot and crisp onions and bread balanced brought a nice texture. The sauce was surprisingly sweet, and not at all spicy. With each bite, the sweetness became just too much, like a glaze. The meat was tough, too.

The fries were done well and served hot.

For another entree, we ordered from the More Pastabilities menu. We liked the pun for the pasta menu, and the description of the Sicilian Pasta: tossed with artichoke hearts, mild Italian sausage, sundried tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes ($16.95).

As appetizing as it sounded, we couldn't get past the oiled-up linguine to fully enjoy what was a nicely flavored sausage combination. We realize some pastas are meant to be oily. This was overbearing.

We thought the salad fresh and abundant when it arrived, but that was the extent of our pleasure. The greens were so soaked with the Epic dressing that the salad was soggy within a few bites. The chicken was bland.

The chips atop the salad were a nice touch, but confusing. Should we mix them in like croutons or eat them on the side?

Maybe it was an off day in the kitchen at Take 27 (which gets its name from movie lingo plus being located at 27 W. Elm St. across from the downtown Century Theater), and we did only sample four items.

We did have fun looking at the movie memorabilia, highlighted by Indiana Jones rappelling down the wall and a Batman statue wearing a Take 27 T-shirt above the bar. On a trip to the restroom we found a rifle from the film "Sands of Iwo Jima." and a saddle John Wayne rode on the silver screen.